Despite age, injury, taekwondo's Lopez plans to come back

LONDON - A day after he fought on a broken leg and lost in a bid for a fourth Olympic medal, Houstonian Steven Lopez was in good spirits, considering, and already looking forward to the 2013 taekwondo world championships.

At the P&G Family Home with the rest of the Lopez clan Saturday evening, Lopez was on crutches and wearing a boot to protect a stress fracture in his right fibula.

"It's hard to put your mind around it emotionally, but the type of person I am I liked to keep moving forward," Lopez said. "I can taste that gold medal. The guys that won, I've beaten and know I could beat."

The 33-year-old, who won gold medals in his first two Olympics but settled for a bronze in 2008, was the oldest competitor in his division, but he has no plans of retiring from the sport. Lopez has been on the U.S. national team since he was 15.

"There are people who retire I think not so much because of the age issue, but because it is difficult to put four years of your life, the sacrifice, dedication, hard work, and people get tired of doing that," Lopez said. "Other things become more of a priority, family or whatever they may be, and they lose focus on this.

"I love the sport and have a passion for it."

Lopez already has won a record five world championships. He sees value in winning another one.

"In case someone else has the aspirations of trying to go for five, well, I say let's make it six," he said.

Lopez hurt his leg in training a couple of weeks ago. He took shots of lidocaine five days before the match so he could go through a decent workout for the first time since the injury. He had been limited to activity that involved no direct pressure on the leg.

He received more injections the morning of the fight, and while there was less pain, Lopez was limited to kicking with only his left leg and unable to bounce on his right, which is a key element in the kick-heavy sport. Those restrictions led directly to a 3-2 loss to Ramin Azizov of Azerbaijan, who was eliminated from the tournament in the next round.

"You find a way, you find a way," Lopez said. "Even with an injury, I've always found a way to win. You fight through it. But with this foot, it was a different story."